Mint Cupcakes For St Patrick's Day

Look what I am serving for St Patrick's Day dinner........Mint Cupcakes.

These beauties are an adaptation of this recipe from The Crafting Foodie.

 So what did I do differently?  No cookie on the bottom of the cupcake or as decoration.

 Instead I used what chocolate curls to decorate.  So what I ended up with was chocolate cupcakes filled with mint flavored chocolate ganache, topped with more ganache, mini chocolate chips, mint flavored buttercream frosting and more ganache drizzled and white chocolate curls on top,  Boy was that a mouthful!

Some of the cupcakes will be traveling so I put them in cups to protect them.  Love that idea.  You can still see the yumminess but they stay intact.

Diana

Black Raspberry Cupcakes

Granddaughter Abby's second cupcake for Memorial day weekend.

Yellow cake, butter cream frosting and black raspberry filling.  Simple and elegant.

Diana

Harry Potter Golden Snitch Cupcakes

A weekend with a granddaughter can be so much fun.  Especially when she is a "crafty kind of girl."

One of the projects we threw ourselves into was cupcake making!  And since she is a huge Harry Potter fan, she choose to make her version of some Golden Snitch cupcakes she had found on the net.  This required fonderific fondant that we dyed golden yellow and aqua blue.  Lots of silver lusterdust was used as was Wilton golden spray.  The cupcakes were simple yellow cake with white butter cream frosting and black raspberry filling.  Awesome (my granddaughter's most used word, followed closely by "the best").

Pretty.

Boxed up, these special cupcakes are headed for her Knitting Club at school.  Yup, I said Knitting Club.  I told you she was crafty.

Diana

Snicker Bar Cupcake

It all started with a bag of snickers.  I needed to make some cupcakes for our YW camp fundraiser tonight and was drawing a blank on what sort of cupcake I should make.  So........ I started with a snickers bar.  Then a little web browsing and this is what I ended up doing........
Bakingdom had a great recipe for Snicker Bar Cupcakes that I followed--kind of.  Except I used store bought ice cream caramel topping and, instead of the candy filling she makes, I used cream cheese filling with more caramel sauce mixed in.  I mean these are seriously sweet and rich cupcakes and the candy filling felt like overkill.  If that is possible in a cupcake.......... 

Here they are all packaged up for the auction.  Diana

Wedding Cupcakes

The other day I showed you the first of the three types of cupcakes I made for a wedding this past Thursday.  The pictures below show the other two cupcakes for the Victorian themed reception.  This first one was a white cupcake with raspberry filling.  The frosting was American buttercream tinted a soft pink.  I topped each one with a homemade raspberry cream filled white chocolate candy in the shape of a wedding cake. 

The cupcake below was a lemon cake with lemon filling topped with American buttercream.  That is a real blackberry on top that I sprayed with edible gold paint. 

72 cupcakes delivered in a rain storm that has since turned into a snow storm.  A special thank you to my dear friend Rhoda who came along for the drive and to calm my nerves.  Just glad to be home safe and sound and cupcake free.  Diana 

Best Ever Chocolate Frosting

I am making this post more for myself than anyone else.  I seem to have trouble remembering things, one of which is which recipes I like or don't like......  Today was one of those times.  I am making cupcakes for a wedding, some of them chocolate, and when it came time to frost them.......I couldn't remember which recipe I hated (clumpy and thick) and which one makes the creamy frosting.  I made one I thought was the good frosting.  Iit wasn't.  Real bummer cuz it was the recipe I gave to my daughter when she asked for a creamy chocolate frosting a few weeks ago.  Sorry Jenn.  I swear this one is great.  I know it is the good one cuz it was the second frosting I made today.  And it turned out perfect.

 

It comes out of "the big book of cupcakes" and uses cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate.  I think the melted chocolate seizes up when the milk is added and that is what causes the unpleasant texture.   So here is the Best Ever chocolate frosting recipe.  Now that it is on this blog it should be easy for me to find again.......

 

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 to 3 tablespoons milk

 

In medium bowl. mix powdered sugar, cocoa, butter and vanilla and 1 tablespoons milk with electric mixer on low speed.  Gradually beat in just enough milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable.  I use a little more milk and if it gets too thin I add more powdered sugar until the frosting hold it shape but is smooth.  This frosts 12 cupcake skimpy or 6 cupcakes as pictured above.  Guess which one I prefer.......

Diana

 

Easy Peasy Halloween Cupcakes

Primary was in charge of the cupcake walk this year at the Halloween party so that meant baking a whole lot of cupcakes!  And they needed to be quick and easy to make since we needed soooo many.  Below you can see some of the ones that I made.

Headstones and bones on a cookie crumb grave.

Pastel candy corn colored high top cupcakes.

Halloween candy corn bark tops simple cupcakes.

The cake walk was so much fun, both for the children and for those of us that serve in Primary.  Diana 

Chocolate Apple Cupcake

Looks like a real apple doesn't it.  But it is not, instead it is a luscious spice cupcake with apple pie filling, topped with a apple shaped chocolate shell.  Inside that shell is american buttercream frosting.  Oh yeah!

So How did I make the chocolate dipped apple sans apple?  Look below.

Using food safe mold putty, I encased the top of a stemless apple.  Waiting the proper time, I released the mold.

I sprayed the mold with Pam non stick spray which I then smeared evenly around the inside.

The mold is then coated with melted chocolate and put in the freezer.  Make sure you leave a hole at the stem area as pictured.  Repeat the coating and freezing step at least once more until a nice thick shell is formed.  CAREFULLY manipulate the shell out of the mold and set aside.  (This is not a process that can be rushed and I certainly wouldn't want to do it for dozens of cupcakes but for a few special ones it is great).  I filled the apple shells with green buttercream and plopped them on the top of the cupcakes.  Stick a lollipop stick through the stem hole.  These cupcakes really look like an chocolate covered apple but are so much more fun!  Also the mold could be used for other desserts too.   Diana

Browned Butter Icing

Where have you been all my life??? How is it that I have never had the pleasure of meeting you in my 33 years of living??? This Pillsbury recipe for Apple Sauce Cupcakes couldn't be a more perfect match for you.  Is it wrong of me to use all of my recently canned apple sauce on this recipe alone?  I think because of the apple sauce this cupcake is the close cousin of the muffin, which makes it a perfect fall breakfast...

Why Didn't You Tell Me

So how long were you going to keep this from me?  Nuf said.  Diana

Carrot Cake Cupcake

See what I gave to a few friends this Easter.  Carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting topped with homemade chocolate carrots as decoration.  The cupcakes were all packaged in these cute little cupcake boxes!

 I had ordered some royal icing carrots from King Arthur's Flour for about seven dollars.  When I opened them I found that there were only 8 in the package.  Now I love King Arthur's Flour like everyone else but these little suckers were almost 1 buck a piece and that was without shipping!  And I had planned on making 30 cupcakes.  Do the math.....  So I got out my food safe mold putty and.....

I stuck four carrots into the soft putty and then let it dry to a flexible mold.

Then I removed the carrots (broke two in the process......) and poured candy melts into the little cavities.  I popped the filled molds into the freezer for about three minutes and CAREFULLY renoved the candy carrots.  I only broke a few in the process so they were much sturdier than the sugar ones.

I didn/t have orange candy melts so I mixed red with yellow and they looked great when they were done.  And cost a lot less than a dollar a piece!

Here are the finished cupcakes.  Some went to my neighbor, some went to a few friends and the rest were our Easter dessert.

I put the ones for my friends in cute cupcake boxes,  I then wrapped a ribbon around the box and used a homemade sticker to seal the ribbon ends together.  They looked special and were delicious as well.  Diana

Bridal Shower Cupcakes

Don't you love it when you copy something off the net and it doesn't look horrible.  In fact people love it and tell you how creative you are.  Me too.  So when a friend asked me to make the cupcakes for her bridal shower I remembered some cute ones I had seen and went to work.Miniature bride and groom cupcakes!

It is difficult to see but the bride cupcakes have tiny white chocolate tiaras and pearls.  Raspberry filling too!

I dyed chocolate fondant black and made top hats and bow ties.  These chocolate cupcakes have Bavarian cream filling.

Here they are at the shower!  It was great fun to see the reaction of the guests when they saw them.  And more importantly, the shower was beautiful, just like the bride to be.  Diana

Cherry Vanilla Pop CUpcakes

This cupcake makes me sooooooo happy!  Maybe it's the polka dot paper, or maybe it's the moist vanilla cake.  Or maybe it is the cherry filling.  Could it be the bright white cherry/vanilla buttercream frosting and red candied cherry on top.

No, I think it is all of the above.These cupcakes just seem so cheery!  like they came out of a vintage 40's kitchen where the mom wears pretty aprons and pearls.  Such happy little cakes.  Diana

Same Ol Cupcake But New Camera

Guess what I got for Christmas!!!  Go on guess!!!  A NEW CAMERA!!!!!!!!!!!!  A Nikon D3100!!!!!!  And I haven't an idea how to use it!!!!!Aperture, shutter speed.....what the heck!  A "for dummies" book is on it's way to my house, but until it arrives I have been just playing. 

Oh, right, the cupcake......chocolate with a fluffy homemade marshmallow frosting.  Husband asked for this frosting because husband says all my other frostings are too sweet.........get real.  And even though I have heard the judges on Cupcake Wars say that (as if it is a bad thing) about some of the frostings on the show, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT.  But I love my husband and want to make him happy so here is a cupcake for him.  Diana

Cupcakes in a Jelly Jar

My dear husband was brave sweet to volunteer to take our most "spirited" class in children's primary this Sunday and I couldn't send him in empty handed.The promise of Chocolate and Cherry cupcakes in a jar should keep the little munchkins in line long enough to allow him to get through the lesson.  And they can take them home to eat instead of dropping crumbs all over the church!  Man I would love to be in his class!  I mean, Cupcakes in a Jar!  I'd sit quietly for 30 minutes for one of these babies!

 Chocolate cupcake, cherry filling, chocolate cupcake, vanilla buttercream, chocolate jimmies and chocolate chips! 

And look at the cute cherries on top plus I tied on a plastic spoon!Moms are going to hate me on the trip home from church when the little squirts can't wait til they get home to eat them. Hee hee.  Diana

Rubber Ducky Cupcake

A quick post of today's treat.  I did this little cupcakes for a baby shower for a friend.  Filled with lemon curd, this sweet cupcake has a white chocolate rubber ducky on top and blue sugar around the edge.    I love the crunch of sugar with the smooth butter cream.  Yum Yum.  Diana

Boo to You

I wish I was more original but I copied this cupcake too!  The  frosting is a cool marshmallow recipe that takes some time but is totally delicious. 

2 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

6 tbs water

1 tbs light corn syrup

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

pinch salt

1 cup mini marshmallows

1 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl placed over a sauce pan of simmering water combine egg whites, sugar, water, corn syrup. cream of tartar and salt.  Mix with a whisk constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture reaches 160 degrees.  Transfer to electric mixture and beat until soft peaks form.  Add marsh mallows and vanilla and beat until frosting is smooth.  Use immediately.

To make the the ghosts put frosting in decorator bag and snip off about one inch off tip.  Pipe ghosts on top of cupcakes.  The eyes and mouths are made from melted chocolate piped onto foil and let set up.  Yum Yum.  Spooky never tasted so good.  Diana

Melted Witch Cupcakes

Here is my take on the melted witch idea out in the blogosphere.  I actually made a mold for the witch hat instead of using Hersey kisses because I needed the hats to be smaller.  And I added chocolate eyes too!These were a big hit at our church's trunk or treat on Wednesday.  They make me laugh!  Diana

Bat Cupcake!

Super easy cupcakes.  Bat mold and some chocolate.  Chocolate cupcakes, apricot filling and creamy white buttercream.  Black sanding sugar.  That's it. 

But oh so delicious!  More cupcakes to come.  Diana

Tombstone

Our Bishopric asked me to make a gravestone cake and cupcakes for YMYW last night.  They wanted a giant grave on the cake that said RIP Death of a Testimony.  Here is what I came up with! 

The tombstone is made with rice crispies.  I added some black food coloring to the marshmallow mixture to get the stone look. 

After it set overnight, it looked like granite! Oh, and of course I miss spelled it!   Diana